From October 7, 2024 to October 11, 2024, lecturers from the Sastra Jepang undergraduate study programme received an invitation from Plan Do, a Japanese institution, to conduct monitoring and evaluation of Sastra Jepang students participating in the Plan Do programme in Japan. Yusida Lusiana and Safrina Arifiani Felayati departed from Indonesia on October 6, 2024 and arrived in Japan on the morning of October 7, 2024 at Narita Airport. On the morning of their arrival, Yusida and Safrina immediately traveled to Hakone to observe students who were interning at Hotel Hakone pax Yoshino, students named Safinah Annajah and Vialita Raya. Later that same day, they monitored students interning at Green Plaza Hakone Hotel, monitoring students named Pruistine and Safina. Hakone, famous for its natural beauty and hot springs, provided direct experience in managing sustainable tourism destinations.
The following day, October 8, 2024, the Sastra Jepang lecturers made a round-trip journey of approximately 6 hours to Karuizawa to observe the beautiful mountainous area and monitor students interning at Green Plaza Karuizawa Hotel with students named Radit, Ajeng, Romadhona, Sabilla, and Khalista. This activity aimed to monitor students’ academic and non-academic progress and ensure the MBKM programme was running according to its objectives. Karuizawa is a mountain resort town where several students underwent programmes related to ecotourism and nature conservation.
On October 9, 2024, Yusida sensei and Safrina sensei received the MBKM team from Fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, namely Ely Triasih Rahayu as FIB Dean, Sri Nani Hari Yanti as Vice Dean II, and Hartati as MBKM Coordinator. The five lecturers held a meeting and monitoring evaluation with Plan Do in Tokyo. Tokyo, a metropolitan city that serves as a study center for students. They continued traveling to Osaka to hold a meeting there.
On October 10, 2024, FIB UNSOED lecturers traveled to Kyoto to meet with Sastra Jepang alumni for monitoring and evaluation. This city is a center of traditional Japanese culture, making it highly relevant to the students’ field of study. The following day, they held a meeting in Osaka with two stakeholders accommodating student internships. In the morning, they met with Osaka Tourism University and in the afternoon met with the Osaka Business team offering internship opportunities with broader levels of engagement.
The following day, October 11, 2024, they returned to Indonesia. From the monitoring and evaluation conducted, it can be concluded that students were able to adapt well, both academically and in terms of sociocultural aspects. The MBKM programme conducted in Japan provided insights and experiences that were highly beneficial for students. Several suggestions were received from students, such as a desire for greater involvement in practical field activities and the need for improved support in cultural adaptation, and from stakeholders regarding the increased demand for internships from stakeholders toward FIB UNSOED students.
Overall, this trip successfully achieved its monitoring and evaluation objectives. The success of students in conducting the MBKM programme in Japan is expected to motivate other students to participate in similar international programmes. Furthermore, closer cooperation between the university and institutions in Japan is expected to continue developing for improved educational quality.
(Safrina Arifiani Felayati)